Everyone wants something different from a time travel story. Some want a sense of adventure, which this subgenre is uniquely good at conveying. Others just want to see moments from the past or possible future scenarios on screen. Not every science fiction story needs to fulfill both of these wishes. However, to really convince its audience, one thing has to everyone Time travel movies and TV shows should be engaging.
From the beginning Outlander understood that. The romantic drama, originally written by For all humanity Co-creator Ronald D. Moore and based on a series of books by Diana Gabaldon, it tells a straightforward, factual time travel story. Yet it stood out immediately when it premiered in 2014 because of the fiery chemistry between its leads and – perhaps more importantly – the uniqueness of its setting.
In the 10 years since its debut on Starz, the series has experienced many creative ups and downs. But throughout that time Outlander has remained the most underrated time travel show on television.
Outlander has a transportable power that is sometimes astonishing.
Starz
Outlander begins in 1945. It follows Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), an intelligent and proud nurse who travels to Scotland with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies) after the end of World War II. During her trip, Claire is transported back to 18th century Scotland by a chance encounter with a collection of strange standing stones. Stranded in a merciless and even more patriarchal time, Claire soon finds herself in the company of a number of quirky Scottish Highlanders, including an attractive Jacobite rebel named Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). The two hit it off immediately and – before Claire even realizes it – fall in love, but their romance is relentlessly tested by the troubles of the time and Claire and Jamie’s shared tendency to get into trouble.
If OutlanderThe premise of makes it sound like a highbrow take on a typical romantic fantasy novel, and it is. The series isn’t ashamed of it either. On the contrary, it has embraced the paperback novel-like aspects of its story from the beginning. At times, this has led to Outlander narrative paths that are both illogical and awkward. Most importantly, however, the focus on the central love story has led to the series often being ranked as the most romantic television series of the past decade. This is in part due to the magnetic chemistry between Balfe and Heughan, which makes you instantly accept their characters’ romance, as well as their full-bodied, shockingly deep portrayals of Jamie and Claire.
It is also the natural result of Outlander‘s own affection for its setting and material. There are not many shows on television that love their characters as much as Outlander loves it, and the show’s first three seasons are enriched by its adoration of Scotland itself. The show spends much of its first season lavishly building up its 18th-century Scottish setting, spotlighting all of the country’s rolling green hills and misty highlands. In the process, it makes you fall in love with Scotland at the same pace as Claire, and the same goes for its equally loving recreations of 18th-century Paris and revolutionary America.
OutlanderThe unwavering attention to detail not only creates a certain level of affection for the various landscapes and historical backgrounds, but also makes it easier to get into the show’s time-travel story. The series puts so much effort into exploring even the smallest details of Claire and Jamie’s ever-evolving lives that, frankly, keeping up remains a far less demanding task. Outlander‘s constant twists and turns than you might think. This is once again a testament to the work of Balfe and Heughan, whose performances always manage to Outlander in recognizable emotions, even when the show comes dangerously close to letting the plot-heavy nature of the source material get in the way of everything else.
Outlander is regularly ranked as one of the most visually impressive television dramas.
Starz
Whether Outlander Whether the series ever lived up to the highs of the first three seasons is a debate that will likely continue to haunt fans of the series for a long time to come. The first few seasons were carried by a number of memorable supporting roles, including those of Graham McTavish, Laura Donnelly, Duncan Lacroix and Simon Callow. The first few seasons of the series were also enhanced by Menzies’ dual performance as Frank, Claire’s now-husband, and Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, a slimy British military captain obsessed with Jamie and Claire.
All this means that the fact that OutlanderThe final seasons of have struggled to maintain the momentum and energy of the first seasons, but that doesn’t take away from the show’s early successes. When it premiered on Starz in August 2014, it quickly emerged as an impressively lively take on a seemingly familiar romantic drama. The show’s setting and characters immediately seemed vibrant and well-defined, and its willingness to explicitly explore complex questions of power – particularly in terms of how it affects romantic and sexual relationships of various kinds – seemed revolutionary at the time.
Since, OutlanderThe shine of may have faded a bit, but it still hasn’t gone away. Even now, it and – at least – its first few seasons (pun intended) are worth your time.
